Amusement ride

ABSTRACT

An amusement ride with two support towers with a suspended set of cables forming a track that supports a ride truck is disclosed. Riders are suspended beneath the ride truck in a rider support mechanism. The ride truck is driven along the track between the towers, causing the rider support mechanism to be propelled along under the ride truck. The ride truck slows and reverses on the track when it reaches the other tower. The forward momentum of the rider support mechanism causes it to swing out beyond the tower, before it is pulled back toward the other tower by the ride truck.

BACKGROUND

Thrill type amusement rides are well known in the art. Rides that allowan amusement park or other location to charge a premium to ride andprovide a flight like experience to the rider are popular and remain indemand. In order to be successful, it is desirable that the ride have arelatively small foot print on the ground, as space at desirablelocations is generally at a premium. The rides need to be easy tooperate to lower the cost of training ride operators while maintainingsafety standards. A comparatively low cost to build and maintain theride is also desirable. These types of rides often have only a fewriders as a time, so the ability to control the ride time and keep it tochosen ride times while allowing for flexibility for the ride operatorsto have “premium rides” that last longer is also desirable. One knownthrill ride is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,223. One of thedrawbacks of this ride is that rider has to be lifted into the launchposition at a safe speed, taking up ride time. Also the rider controlsthe release of the rider from the launch line, potentially causingfurther delay, particularly if the rider becomes scared and refuses torelease the launch line, requiring that the rider be lowered back downto the ground for removal from the ride.

The foregoing example of the related art and limitations relatedtherewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Otherlimitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill inthe art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is a swing type amusement ride withtwo support towers and a suspended wire track strung between the towers.A ride truck is mounted on the suspended wire track with the rider(s)suspended below the ride truck on wires. The ride truck is driven alongthe suspended wire track between the two towers, moving the riders alongbeneath the ride truck.

One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a ride that combinesa flying along a path effect with a swing effect at each end, creating aunique rider experience.

One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a ride that anoperator can easily chose the length of the ride by choosing the numberof times the ride is propelled between the towers.

One aspect of the present disclosure it to provide a ride that theoperator can choose the excitement level of the rider by varying thespeed that the ride truck moves between the towers, allowing for a widerrange of people to ride on the thrill ride.

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described andillustrated in conjunction with systems, tool and methods which aremeant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. Invarious embodiments, one or more of the above described problems havebeen reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed toother improvements.

In one embodiment two support towers each have two legs with a crossbeam between them. Alternatively the support towers can be arch shaped.Between the two support towers a suspended set of cables forms a trackthat supports a ride truck. Riders are suspended beneath the ride truckin a rider support mechanism. The ride truck is driven along the trackbetween the towers, causing the rider support mechanism to be propelledalong under the ride truck. The ride truck slows and reverses on thetrack when it reaches the other tower. The forward momentum of the ridersupport mechanism causes it to swing out beyond the tower, before it ispulled back toward the other tower by the ride truck.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above,further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein likereference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the amusement ride.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the loading area.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the top of one of the support towershowing the motor.

FIG. 4 is a close up of the ride truck mounted on the suspended wiretrack.

FIG. 5 is a close up of the motor drive.

FIG. 6 is a close up view of the riders swing out from one of thetowers.

FIG. 7 is a close up view of an alternate embodiment with the riders inrider carriage.

Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention indetail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplication to the details of the particular arrangement shown, sincethe invention is capable of other embodiments. Exemplary embodiments areillustrated in referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended thatthe embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be consideredillustrative rather than limiting. Also, the terminology used herein isfor the purpose of description and not of limitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring first to FIG. 1, the ride 100 has two support towers 103 and104. Each tower has two support legs 117, 118 connected by a cross beam119. In the preferred embodiment the two support legs incline towardseach other, forming a truncated A frame. In another embodiment (notshown) the support towers can be formed as arches. These configurationsallow for significant space between the bases 120, 121 to ensure theriders do not come into contact with the support legs while the ride isin operation, but allows for a narrower top, which both providesstructural stability and reduces construction cost. In the depictedembodiment the support towers are 100′ high, and the bases are 60′apart. The cross beam is 12′ long. Any necessary guy wires 122 are usedto ensure stability of the support towers 103, 106. The number andconfiguration of the guy wires 122 will depend on a number of factors,including but not limited to height of the towers, environmentalconditions, maximum weight of riders that will be allowed on the ride atone time, speed of the ride and other similar considerations. The guywires may also be eliminated if the towers are designed and built heavyenough.

Two track wires 107 and 108 are strung between the two support towers103 and 104 and connected to the cross beams 119. The track wires arelarge enough allow sufficient tensioning to reduce the catenary of thecable to a minimum amount, possibly 1.5 inch diameter wires. Analternate embodiment (not shown) the track wires could be rigid track. Aride truck 101 is slidably mounted on the track wires 107, 108. A drivecable 109 driven by motor 113 is attached to the ride truck 101 to movethe ride truck back and forth along the track wires 107, 108 in thedepicted embodiment. Another possible method of driving the ride wouldbe a liner induction motor, powered by a single electrified cable (notshown). Other methods of driving the truck along the wires could be usedas well.

Two rider suspension wires 123 are pivotally connected at an upper endto the underside of ride truck 101 on each side of the ride truck 101.The riders 102 are connected to the lower end of the rider suspensionwires at a height that ensures the riders cannot contact the ground orany objects around the ride. This height will vary with the ridelocation. The triangle shape thus formed provides side-to-side stabilityto the riders.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a loading area 111,which in the depicted embodiment is located under one of the supporttowers 103. In operation the rider(s) 102 will be attached to the ridersupport wires 123 with attachment device 115. A queue guide 110 isprovided to organize and guide the line of people waiting to ride on theride 100. The design of such queue guides 110 to ensure safety andminimize customer dissatisfaction with wait times is well known and willnot be further discussed here. In the disclosed embodiment the queueguide 110 leads to a hydraulic scissor lift 112 to lower and lift aloading platform 109 with riders 102 on it up to be attached to theattachment device 115. The hydraulic scissor lift 112 can then belowered out of the way to ensure the riders 102 can be moved withouthitting the loading platform 109. The use of the lifting loadingplatform 109 ensures that the riders 102 are always well clear of theground when the ride is moving. Other methods of lifting the loadingplatform 109 can be used as well. Also, other methods of designing aloading platform 109 to allow the riders 102 to be loaded on the rideand then have the loading platform 109 move out of the way are possibleas well and are considered within the scope of this disclosure.

Referring next to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the ride truck 101 is moved back andforth along the track wires 107, 108 between the two support towers 103,104. In the depicted embodiment the ride truck 101 is moved by anelectric motor 113 driving a shiv wheel 130. The ride truck 101 haswheels 133 to allow it to freely move along the track wires 107, 108.Retention loops 134 attach the ride truck 101 to the track wires.

In use, the rider 102 is attached to the rider support wires 123 in facedown position in the depicted embodiment. The loading platform 109 islowered and then the ride truck is accelerated toward the other supporttower 104 at speeds of 5 to 60 mph. The riders will be pulled alongunder the track wires, giving a feeling of flying along the ground. Whenthe ride truck reaches the other tower 103, it slows rapidly, andreverses direction. Momentum then carries the riders out is a swingingarc as shown in FIG. 6. The speed of the ride truck can be controlled toset the height the riders will swing to. If desired, the rider truckcould stop at one end to let several swings outward occur before therider truck heads back the other direction. The ride truck is then movedback to the other tower, repeating the swing outward from the othertower. If desired the ride truck can move back at a slower speed sothere is less swing on the other end, allowing the riders to be broughtto a stop and unloaded from the ride faster. The ride operator can choseif the ride truck takes one complete traverse of the track, or multipleruns back and forth along the track. In another embodiment (not shown)there are loading platforms at both towers and the riders are unloadedafter a single run along the track and swinging at a single end.

FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment where multiple riders are placed ina rider carriage 130, probably in seated configuration. The ridercarriage has windows and a door for loading and unloading the riders.

While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussedabove, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications,permutations, additions and sub-combinations therefore. It is thereforeintended that the following appended claims hereinafter introduced areinterpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additionsand sub-combinations are within their true spirit and scope. Eachapparatus embodiment described herein has numerous equivalents.

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the useof such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of thefeatures shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognizedthat various modifications are possible within the scope of theinvention claimed. Thus, it should be understood that although thepresent invention has been specifically disclosed by preferredembodiments and optional features, modification and variation of theconcepts herein disclosed may be resorted to by those skilled in theart, and that such modifications and variations are considered to bewithin the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.Whenever a range is given in the specification, all intermediate rangesand subranges, as well as all individual values included in the rangesgiven are intended to be included in the disclosure. When a Markushgroup or other grouping is used herein, all individual members of thegroup and all combinations and subcombinations possible of the group areintended to be individually included in the disclosure.

In general the terms and phrases used herein have their art-recognizedmeaning, which can be found by reference to standard texts, journalreferences and contexts known to those skilled in the art. The abovedefinitions are provided to clarify their specific use in the context ofthe invention.

I claim:
 1. An amusement ride comprising: at least two support towerswith a track suspended between the support towers; a ride truckslideably mounted on the track; a rider support mechanism suspendedbeneath the ride truck; the ride truck being driven along the track fromone tower to the other and then being driven back to the other towersuch that the rider support mechanism swings out beyond the supporttower at each end of the ride.